To all of you who use the above ferry company, the crew members have decided to take industrial action, which will affect all of their crossings.
This afternoons Caen / Portsmouth crossing was cancelled as is to-nights and tomorrow morning’s bound for England and obviously will be the same for the outbound ferries to France.
This mornings ferry from St Malo sailed but is unlikely to return tonight, which means it will be in the wrong port for tomorrow mornings sailing to England.
Plymouth / Roscoff crossings have also been affected.
I have contacted the Portsmouth office who have stated that the action is planned for at least 24 hours but may go on for 48 hours.
A nice day off for some drivers then !
French seamen on strike, OMG, whatever next 
newmercman:
French seamen on strike, OMG, whatever next
I’m sure it wont have an effect on the company, as it did with Seafrance.
I think I might have found the reason why they are striking, just had a look at the new crossing timetable. From November, they are removing loads of crossings on the Caen/Portsmouth route, which I presume will result in a drop in the crews pay packets.
Looking at all the ones they have removed, I can imagine it will cause a few headaches for the planners of the transport companies that use this service. Can’t see why BF have done this, they make a lot of money from the haulage firms that use them.
b f have made a massive loss three years in a row
■■■■■123:
b f have made a massive loss three years in a row
Isn’t that due to buying new ships ?
turnip:
■■■■■123:
b f have made a massive loss three years in a rowIsn’t that due to buying new ships ?
Not entirely, they say that a lot of the losses were due to the rising cost of fuel, the downturn of customers, due to people choosing cheaper options to travel, or not even going abroad. Two years ago affected the company dramatically when the pound/Euro was not at a favorable rate, as 90% of there trading is done in £’s, fuel, supplies, etc., and consequently they had to pay more. There is also the fact that the company was supported by French banks, when they were trading, buying the new crafts, and covering a small deficit, then obviously when the financial crisis started, the banks had to pull out some of the financial support.
I used to love crossing with them,clean cabins,very good food for drivers with the discounts,cinemas to pass the time,but a long time ago the meals were free,before drivers put an end to that by taking all the food away in carrier bags and stuffing their pockets with ham,cheese and croissants.
The staff were very friendly too,once you got to know them,you could have a joke and laugh with them.
Did not like the Duc de Normandie,it would make seasoned sailors puke up even when the sea was flat,i had to sleep downstairs in my cab for that ship with no stabilsers.